Black with a Touch of Red
by DarkAngelOfSorrowReturns
Summary: Lily Evans never knew her father, but thanks to a potion in Potions, she will learn the truth.


**A/N: Written for QLFC and HSWW (Challenges and Assignments)**

 **(QLFC) Position:** Keeper **; Team:** Wimbourne Wasps **; Prompt:** write two characters in a familial relationship. It does not have to be canon. **Characters** : Bellatrix Lestrange and Lily Evans

 **(HSWW) Assignment #8:** Arithmancy: The Number Two **; Task 2:** Write about someone bringing another person out of the dark.

 **Count Your Buttons:** (dialogue) "Love is such a silly thing. Flimsy, really. Stupid, useless emotion."

 **National Princess Day:** Atta - A Bug's Life - write about sisters

 **Around the World in Thirty-One Days:** 136\. Philippines - Song: Pretender - Foo Fighters

 **Word Count:** 1,766

* * *

Lily's sister was the person she most loved, yet sometimes most hated. If she got top marks, her sister would strive to best Lily some other way. If they were in the same vicinity, their expressions were nothing short of irritation, but Lily knew that their bond was strong.

If there was a guy that Lily fancied, her sister made it clear to threaten him; she enjoyed doing that. Lily, on the other, hand didn't always find it so amusing.

Lily liked to think of herself as graceful and intelligent, but her sister was really the poised one. Even the playful, yet sometimes sadistic, side that she possessed couldn't take that nature away from her sister. It was one of the many things that Lily admired about her.

After all, there was much to admire about Bellatrix Black.

However, a year ago no one could tell her that this would be her life.

* * *

"The potion today is a familial one of sorts," Professor Slughorn explained. "If done correctly, there will be three names that form in the smoke in your cauldron: the first one would be yours, then your mother, and finally, your father."

He wrote down the ingredients on the board. "The final ingredient is a single drop of your blood. One of you will lightly prick your finger, not too much, and add the drop to the potion to get your results."

Lily was alert. Normally she was in her classes anyway, but the prospect of learning who her father could be was too good to pass up. Her partner, and friend, Marlene had written all the ingredients, so Lily went to the cupboard to gather them all.

After gathering the ingredients and applying them to the cauldron as instructed, Lily and Marlene looked at each other.

"This could be your chance, Lily," Marlene said excitedly. "You go first."

Lily gave her friend a grateful smile and grabbed a pin, wincing as she pricked her finger. A drop of her blood fell into the brewing potion, and the entire thing began to bubble. Smoke started to rise, and Lily saw her name forming in wisps.

Next, she saw her mother's name, Dahlia Evans, and smiled. Her heart was racing as she was going to read the name of her father, the name her mother didn't get the chance to tell her before she died.

 _Cygnus Black III_

Lily blinked in surprise, turning to Marlene. "M-Marlene…" she started to say. Her mind was swimming with thoughts; the name had to be a mistake. Her friend watched her with caution, reaching for her, but Lily's eyes rolled to the back of her head. Things had gone dark, but she could hear someone faintly calling her name.

0...0...0

Lily slowly opened her eyes, gingerly touching her forehead as she sat up on the cot. Madam Pomfrey was at her side, ready with a potion.

"It's for the headache, dear," Madam Pomfrey told Lily with a smile.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Lily said, grabbing the potion and taking it with the matron's help. Afterwards, Lily leaned back on the bed with a sigh, and Madam Pomfrey moved about to make her comfortable.

The doors opened and Professor Dumbledore entered the Hospital Wing. He moved to Lily's bedside and sat down. "Horace informed me of what happened, Miss Evans. Or would you now prefer Miss Black?"

Lily shook her head. "Evans is preferred. Accepting the other will mean it's true."

Dumbledore gave her a comforting look. "Unfortunately, Miss Evans, the potion proves to be true. You are a Black."

* * *

Lily looked at herself in the full-length mirror. Her hair was pinned in a french braid; pins set through the braid. It was the night of the graduation ball and she was genuinely nervous. It wasn't because she was about to graduate and be off in the wizarding world as an adult, but rather it was because of the name she would have associations with now.

She found Sirius a darling at times, but the other Blacks she knew of were questionable, especially Bellatrix.

The day the truth was revealed, Dumbledore had brought Bellatrix in via floo so she could be informed about the newfound information. Needless to say, the witch was not happy.

 _Bellatrix's demeanor was impassive, but her shoulders were tense. Her head was tilted in a childish manner. "If you think for one second I believe that…" Her eyes looked Lily over. "...she is my sister then you're as mad as they say."_

" _I don't like this more than you do," Lily replied with a huff._

" _Good," Bellatrix snapped. "The only thing I want to agree with you on."_

" _Perhaps there is something that I can provide for the both of you that will prove insightful," Dumbledore said, opening his drawer and pulling out a vial._

 _Bellatrix gave a skeptical look with a sneer as she recognized the contents of the vial. "Who's memory does that contain?" she questioned._

 _Lily looked on in awe. "That's amazing…"_

" _Save that for something more important, Sister," Bellatrix drawled, giving Lily a scathing look._

 _Dumbledore took the vial and opened one of the cabinets at the wall, revealing a Pensieve. He pulled it out and uncorked the vial, pouring the memory into the basin. It swirled and formed into the memory, and Dumbledore urged Bellatrix and Lily to examine it._

 _Bellatrix had a nasty look on her face but she conceded and placed her head in the memory. Lily followed suit, anxious to see what was going to happen._

 _They found themselves in a study. Bellatrix looked around at the regal atmosphere, stopping at the man sitting at the desk._

" _Father," she confirmed, turning to face the woman that entered the room with a serene look on her face._

 _Lily's mouth went dry when she caught sight of the redhead that entered the office. "Mother," she said softly._

" _That's your mother?" Bellatrix said with distaste._

 _Lily frowned. "I could say the same about your father," she retorted._

" _Our father," Bellatrix said cheekily._

" _So you're accepting me as your sister?" Lily raised a brow._

 _Bellatrix scowled, turning to watch the scene. The couple were embracing when Lily's mother pulled away with a large grin._

" _I have come with wonderful news, Cygnus," Dahlia said. "I'm bearing our child."_

 _Cygnus' expression turned sour. "How is that wonderful?" he asked._

" _What do you mean?" Dahlia asked. "This is wonderful, as we can be together, Cygnus!"_

 _He went to sit back at his desk. "You know I have a daughter already, Dahlia," he drawled. "Her mother may have passed away, but there is still an image to maintain here."_

 _Lily found herself clenching her fist as she watched the exchange; meanwhile, Bellatrix was snickering._

 _Dahlia's expressed darkened. "I would have nothing to do with your reputation being soiled," she spat. "The Evans are just as respected as the Blacks."_

 _Cygnus gave her a bored look. "There would still be questions," he said simply._

" _What about the love you spoke of?" Dahlia questioned. "I thought you loved me?"_

" _Love is such a silly thing." He leaned back in his chair, setting his legs on the desk and crossing them at the ankles. Cygnus examined his nails casually. "Flimsy, really. Stupid, useless emotion."_

 _Dahlia shook her head. "Yet it is real, very real. Something that I know you will feel for your child." Her hand rested on her stomach as she stared intensely at Cygnus. "No amount of power or money in this life will keep you from denying our baby. I will see to that."_

 _Lily saw his eyes were narrowed as Dahlia swept out of the office._

 _The area began to swirl around them, and Bellatrix and Lily were pushed out of the memory. When they resurfaced from the basin, Lily saw Dumbledore looking at them calmly._

" _She brought the memory to you," Lily stated. "How did she know to do that?"_

" _Your mother was a smart woman," Dumbledore said. "Something that was passed along to you." He gave her a smile, looking between her and Bellatrix. "I hope that you can find it in yourself to be by each other's side, as sisters should be."_

 _He took a seat behind his desk and gestured his hand to the glass tray in front of him. "Lemon drop before you leave?"_

Lily sighed, looking down to smooth the front of her dress. It was black with tulle ruffles around the skirt, and Lily couldn't help but snort at the color she had chosen.

Bellatrix had left without saying so much as a word to her after Dumbledore dismissed them. She didn't know how to process the information much herself, so she could accept Bellatrix's cold shoulder.

Frankly, she was happy the witch didn't destroy anything in the office. Though, there was a small pinch at her heart at learning that her father and sister didn't want anything to do with her.

Lily lifted her head to examine herself in the mirror one final time, only to scream when she saw a figure standing behind her.

Bellatrix grinned manically. "Did I scare you?" she asked before cackling.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked. "Better yet, how did you get in here?"

The older witch cocked her hip and smirked. "Courtesy of your cousin, Sister. I had to see you first."

Lily knitted her brows. "What for?"

Bellatrix held out a box for Lily. Lily looked at the box skeptically before tentatively taking it. She opened it slowly, and it revealed a black choker with a ruby in the center. Lily ran a finger over the ruby gently before glancing at Bellatrix. "Is this a trick?"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "If I wanted to hex you, I would have done it already. Consider it a welcome to your new life. Our mothers and father are gone, leaving the two of us with that dog, Sirius. If I must claim that fool, I won't be alone in doing so for all the trouble it's worth."

Lily took the choker out the box and placed it around her neck. "Thank you."

Bellatrix sniffed and turned her nose into the air. "It's getting stuffy in here. Enjoy yourself tonight, Lily dear." She glided out of the room.

Taking a final look at herself, Lily straightened her shoulders and held her head high. Satisfied, Lily left the dormitory herself.

She pondered on what had changed Bellatrix's mind, but that didn't matter now. What mattered was that she could have another family with her mother gone, even if that family included Bellatrix Black.


End file.
